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Manitoba health officials are investigating a critical incident after the family of an 82-year-old woman said she died following a more than 30-hour wait for hospital care.
The family of Genevieve Price said she had a swollen hand and went to a minor injury clinic for care last week.
Clinic staff said Price required IV antibiotics and more intensive care, according to a social media post by her daughter Michelle Price, who is a nurse. She was transferred to Grace Hospital.
Genevieve Price was put on a stretcher in the hallway and waited for hours, her daughter said. During that time, her situation worsened.
She was transferred to St. Boniface Hospital, where she later died.
"My mom deserved better. We deserve better. We NEED better," Michelle Price wrote in her post.
"The system is broken and so is my heart."
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, which oversees both hospitals, confirmed Wednesday that Price's death is being investigated as a critical incident — an incident where people using Manitoba's health system suffer serious, unintended harm.
In a statement, Kerstin Jordan, the health authority's chief officer for nursing, allied health and quality, said the health authority has extended "deepest condolences to Ms. Price’s family."
Jordan said the health authority's patient safety team has launched a "comprehensive review into the circumstances that led to the incident," and officials are focused on "identifying improvements that help ensure events like this do not happen again."
Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Genevieve Price's death is a 'tragedy.' (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said at a press conference on Wednesday they spoke to Michelle Price daughter and expressed condolences to the family.
"These incidents are devastating and they are also unacceptable," Asagwara said.
"We can and must do better, and our government is going to take a close look at this to make sure that everyone in this system is doing everything they can to prevent something like this from happening again."
Asagwara said a "more comprehensive investigation" needs to be done in addition to the critical incident review.
"This situation is a tragedy," they said.
"This is not a situation that any Manitoba family, any family, should ever, ever experience."
WATCH | Woman dies after more than 30-hour wait at Winnipeg ER:The death of an 82-year-old woman who waited more than 30 hours for care at the Grace Hospital over the weekend is being investigated as a critical incident, as the province's health minister says they want to find out what might have been missed.